I’m in India, in Burrabazar, to be precise, looking for Kolkata’s
oldest church, and I’m lost. In the space of a pressure-cooker-crowded
hour, I have stumbled across the Nakhoda Mosque, the Shield of David
Synagogue and the Portuguese-founded Cathedral of the Most Holy
Rosary, plus several Hindu and Jain temples adding their individual
spice to this multicultural mosaic.

Logic tells me to go down Armenian Street, as the church was built by
the community that gave this meandering road its name. Instead, I’m
directed ­towards Old China Bazaar Lane, the heart of old ­Calcutta’s
­original Chinatown. Finally, I find a whitewashed ­lychgate that
opens to a courtyard dotted with gravestones and dominated by the
imposing spire of the Armenian Holy Church of Nazareth.

Named after its founder, Aga Nazar, the church dates back to 1724,
which is why the presence of a gravestone dated 1630 commemorating the
death of “Rezabeebeb, wife of the late charitable Sookias” has
historians flummoxed. That’s almost 70 years before Kolkata’s founder,
Job Charnock, took possession of what was then a village on the Hoogly
River on behalf of the East India Co. The church’s custodian, Paul
Stephen, happily shows me other ­unusual gravestones, including that
of Esahac Abraha­mian, who died from “wounds received while fighting a
lion in a gladiatorial contest” in nearby Fort William.

A gold-framed, 19th-century painting of The Last Supper hangs above
the altar, looking surprisingly fresh despite the humidity. There are
plaques to the numerous benefactors who have donated to the church’s
upkeep and enough space for several hundred parishioners and a choir.
There are so few Armenians left now, however, ­that services are held
only every three weeks.

“We ran this city once. Now you can count us on the fingers of both
hands, the true Armenians,” says Sonia John, whose father migrated
from Iran in the 1940s. When Armenians of mixed blood are included,
the number swells to about 200, which is well down from a peak of
several thousand when refugees from the 1915 Armenian holocaust in
Turkey flooded the city.

The first Armenians landed in India in the 16th century as economic
migrants from Persia. They were ­welcomed by the Mughal Emperor Akbar,
who took an olive-skinned Armenian, Mariam Zamani, as one of his many
wives. By the early 19th century, they had ­established a firm
foothold as traders, jewellers, bankers, industrialists and property
developers. Armenians controlled the then-Calcutta hospitality
industry, owning hotels such as The Grand, Astoria, Lytton and Russell
plus, most famously, the Fairlawn. The 231-year-old property was run
by the city’s most eclectic raconteur, ­Violet Smith, until her death
in 2014. Vi, as she insisted on being called, inherited the hotel from
her mother in 1962. Like many Armenians, Vi’s grandparents fled Turkey
in 1915, travelling by way of Isfahan and the Khyber Pass to reach the
safety of India.

The Fairlawn’s rollcall of guests includes actor Julie Christie,
travel writer Eric Newby, playwright Tom Stoppard and novelist
Dominique Lapierre, whose City of Joy was made into a film in 1992
starring Patrick Swayze, who also stayed there during the movie’s
shooting.

With Vi’s death, a community that punched well above its weight has
come one step closer to extinction. Still, battlers like Sonia John
refuse to slow down. At 89, she is the principal of a private girl’s
school in central Kolkata. “The Armenians of Calcutta are going
through a very sad period,” she admits, referring to the city by its
original name. “But we have been through much, much worse than this.”

KOLKATA: The Armenian population in Kolkata, numbering about 300 (those who are baptised), celebrated Christmas on Friday.

Unlike other Christians, the Orthodox Armenian Church doesn't celebrate Christmas on December 25. Armenians say that nobody is certain of the exact date of Christ's birth and they prefer to celebrate an Advent Period instead, which culminates in Christmas on January 6. The celebrations started with mass at the Armenian Church of the Holy Nazareth.

"Our mass is slightly different. During the service, the priest has his back turned towards the congregation. He does so as the 'body and blood' of Christ are kept in the Tabernacle on the altar and the priest can't turn his back on God. During service, the crucifix is brought down and used to bless a baptismal font full of water. This is used as holy water throughout the year. The water is also blessed with holy oil. This is the same oil that St Gregory used when he took Christianity to Armenia. The same ingredients have been used to make the oil for over 2,000 years now," said Anthony Khatchaturian, a member of the community.

The priest neither touches the Bible directly (it is wrapped in silk cloth) nor does he read from it. He sings praises unto The Lord instead. The service is always in Armenian.

According to Khatchaturian, the church at Armenian Street was originally named Nazar's Armenian Church after founder Aga Nazar. Over the years, it came to be called the Armenian Church of the Holy Nazareth.

After service, the Armenians got together for Christmas lunch. Over the years, the community in Kolkata has adopted the Anglo-Indian cuisine as most ingredients used in Armenia aren't available here. "One of Bengal's favourite dishes 'Potoler Dorma' has its origins in Armenia. We call it 'Dolma' and use grape leaf to wrap the mincemeat instead," Khatchaturian said.

Gravestones speak of lives lived, pathways traced and choices made.
They give us the stories behind a person and his life as seen by his
loved ones. Chennai is full of abundant history - stories of men and
women who built this city, which are now etched onto the crumbling
ruins of Chennai's old cemeteries.

There are numerous cemeteries where one can spend an entire evening
and not even realise the time passing. The St Mary's Church, tucked
away in a corner of Fort St George has, according to the caretaker,
not only the distinction of being the oldest Anglican church on the
east of the Suez, but is also the resting place of the oldest British
tombstone, dating way back to 1652.

Elizabeth Baker, the wife of the first president of the Madras
Presidency, Aaron Baker, died when she was on her way to meet her
husband. Her tombstone, lying near the entrance, weathered and
cracked, is a testimony to the upheaval they were all put through. The
104 tombstones were used as shields by the invading French forces in
1758. They were originally buried in the `Guava garden,' on top of
which the law college currently stands.

Once the law college came up, the cemetery was shifted near the
Metropolitan Transport Corporation on Pallavan Salai, where it
currently stands. An article by historian S Muthiah talks about an old
description mentioning boundary hedges filled with jasmine, shady
trees, patches of lawn and beds of bright flowers. But it is a sense
of desolation that coats the cemetery today. Plants have run wild,
resembling a scene out of a jungle, while patches of lawn are more
patches of debris than green grass.

The graves themselves are undecipherable, some having crumbled due to
natural elements, others covered by weeds and creepers that have run
amok. Still, if one has the patience and a certain disregard for
snakes, perusing the names on the tombs and gravestones would pass for
a very pleasant pastime.

In stark contrast, the two corners of the cemetery wear a fresh look.
Lined with neatly-pruned hedges and padlocked, one contains the graves
of the Commonwealth soldiers who died during Second World War, while
the other constituttes the Roman Catholic part of the cemetery.

Speaking of stark contrasts, the unassuming Armenian Church in
Georgetown with its fresh white paint, neatly cut grass and a serene
atmosphere, is quite a sight. Turning 300 this year, it has about 350
Armenian tombstones in its floors, some even dating back to 1740. A
majority of them have inscriptions in Armenian with a smattering of
English and Latin.

The most ornate one is the grave of Rev Haruthiun Shmavonian, founder
of the first Armenian journal who died in 1824. The journal, Azdarar,
came out in 1794, while Shmavonian was the priest in-charge of the
church.

Similar to the tombstones in the Armenian Church, the St Thomas Mount
Church too hosts Armenian tombstones. According to `Madras, Chennai: A
400-year Record of the First City of Modern India', some of them are
as old as 1707.

The Luz Church in Mylapore also bears tombstones of early Portuguese
settlers. The church, the oldest in the city, has tombstones as early
as 1600 lining the entrance and the walls. In addition, the Quibble
Island Cemetery has a small number of old tombstones, dating back to
the latter half of the 1800's. An evening stroll through the shady,
green-leafed contours of the cemetery might prove to be just the
stress breaker. one's looking for.

Paper trail: How the world’s first Armenian journal emerged in Madras in 1794

On Madras Day, retracing the origins of ‘Azdarar’ and the merchant community that supported it.

Vinita Govindarajan
Yesterday · 11:30 am

Under the shade of frangipani trees in the quiet garden of Chennai’s 245-year-old Armenian Church is a grave decorated with an open book. Engraved on the book in block letters is the word “Azdarar”, which means “The Intelligencer” in Armenian. This was the first Armenian journal in the world, published in Madras in the year 1794, when the merchant community from the mountainous, Eurasian country was thriving in the city.

The grave belongs to Reverend Haruthium Shmavonian (1750-1824), who was the editor and founder of Azdarar, hailed as the Father of Armenian Journalism. Shmavonian was born in Shiraz, a cultural hub in Iran. After the sudden death of his two sons, Shmavonian moved away from the crowded city to study Persian, which he ultimately mastered. His later voyages led him to settle down as a priest in Old Madras, where he eventually began the journal Azdarar on October 28, 1794 publishing business and world news in Armenian for the settlers in Madras.

The journal lasted only for 18 months, for reasons unknown. “The journal, sad to say, did not last long – and the few attempts to revive it also failed,” wrote city historian and chronicler S Muthiah in his book Tales of Old and New Madras.

Little is known about this Armenian journal today. While much has been written about the elegant architecture and the famous bell tower of the Armenian Church in city newspapers, the journal usually receives only a passing mention.

Old ties

The Armenian connection with Madras dates back to the 1600s, when merchants arrived by sea to trade in jute and silk, spices and precious stones. The first traces of Armenian settlements in India can be found in Surat in the 13th Century, where Armenians settled after fleeing from the persecution of the Islamic Caliphate in Persia and the Armenian Highlands. The community soon spread its network and settled in the port cities of Bombay, Calcutta, Rangoon and Madras.

Armenian Street in northern Chennai still serves as a reminder of the city’s links with the Eurasian country. The bustling street, which is now lined with street vendors and tea shops, also houses the remnants of an era long past. The Armenian Church, where the grave of Shmavonian lies, was once the focus of the city’s Armenians – not only for religious gatherings but also as a storehouse and library for a large collection of books for the local community. According to one study on Armenian print culture, a merchant prince named Shahamir Shahamirian, established the first Armenian printing press in India in the city of Madras in 1772 in India. This press also published a number of important works of Armenian political thought and modern constitutional thinking around 1787, including The Snare of Glory by Shahamirian – the first republican-inspired proto-constitution of the future state of Armenia.

But these books dwindled in numbers along with the community. After the city’s last Armenian moved to Bengaluru around 2007, there were no more descendants of the original settlers in Chennai. But even today, the Republic of Armenia acknowledges its strong ties with India, and Madras in particular, as it prepare to build a monument in front of the Victory War Memorial in Chennai to mark 25 years of diplomacy with India.

“The Armenians of Madras were famous for their printing press and charitable work,” the Consul General of the Republic of Armenia, Shivkumar Eashwaran, told The Times of India. “They even set up an Armenian newspaper Azdarar, which they printed and distributed in the city.”

Reverend Haruthium Shmavonian's grave. Credit: Vinita Govindarajan

Pioneer journal

“What would the history of Armenian journalism be without the world’s first Armenian newspaper Azdarar, published for two consecutive years by Haruthiun Shmavonian in Madras from 1794 to 1796?” asks historian and Armenian studies scholar Sebouh Aslanian.

Reverend Haruthiun Shmavonian was “the last of the great Madras-Armenians,” according to S Muthiah. The first Armenian leader was the magnetic Kojah Petrus Woskan, who was responsible for the strong relationship the community had with the British. Woskan was also known for building the first bridge across the Adyar river and the flight of 160 steps up the St Thomas Mount.

Shmavonian’s Azdarar however, had an impact not only on the local community but across the world. The periodical was considered to be one of the origins of Armenian nationalism. “It was the first attempt to speak for the community which was scattered across many port cities,” said Hari Vasudevan, Professor Emeritus of Calcutta University. The centenary jubilee of the the founding of the journal was celebrated in 1894, by Armenian journalists in Venice, Vienna, Marseilles, Constantinople and many other cities.

According to Aslanian, Azdarar contained novel features for the 18th century Armenian readers. Since the Armenian community were primarily traders, several pages in each issue were devoted to making commercial information publicly available – such as the timetables of commercial shipping traffic in the Madras port, the price lists of various commodities traded in local markets and advertisements of goods for sale.

Shmavonian himself apparently noted in his first editorial that his main aim was to “provide useful news to Madras’s then fledgling community and especially to its business leaders.” But Azdarar had a wide variety of articles. Besides business news, each issue also contained social and political news about various Armenian communities across India, said Aslanian. The periodical also had sections that would recap news from Europe, which was excerpted and translated from English language newspapers in India and Europe.

The publishing of the Armenian journal on a regular basis was quite an unusual phenomenon, said Hari Vasudevan. “The publishing of a non-English, non-European periodical was not something very common,” he said. “This notion of producing for a reading public was not known in Iran and East Turkey at that time. It was usually only almanacs that were distributed, concerning details of the position of stars and auspicious dates of the month.”

Scholars suspect that the British newspapers and periodicals circulated were an important influence on Armenian print culture. Since the British were their competitors in trade, the Armenians needed to keep their community up to speed with the latest trade developments. “Many of these innovative features were creative adaptations from English-language newspapers that had just begun to appear in India, including the idea of presenting information pertinent to the business community in a public forum,” wrote Aslanian.

The Armenian merchants were regular travellers, and culturally united by the churches they built and their Christian practice. But the Azdarar is regarded as one of the first non-religious attempts to bring the community together. Today, in a Madras church that lies 4,000 kilometres away from their homeland, the inscription on a grave is testament to the first voice of the Armenians.

Susan Reuben is in the city once again to attend the annual service that was conducted at the Armenian Church on Tuesday.

“We were here last year and we are trying to make our visits as frequent as possible. There are a good number of people here today for the service, and this way, we can hope to revive the community again in Chennai,” she says. Susan is warden of the Armenian Church in Kolkata for over 21 years.

Armenians – traditionally rich merchants – enjoyed many privileges in the country, and their trail can be traced along major coastal cities like Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay.

From a flourishing community, Armenians have dwindled significantly in Chennai with just a church and a street named after them – a testimony to a once glorious past.

While Kolkata has a good number of Armenian churches and a sizeable community, the same cannot be said of Chennai.

In 2004, Chennai’s last Armenian, Michael Stephan, moved out from the city to Bengaluru where he currently works as a Senior Manager, client services, at a facility management company. "There are about six other families in Bengaluru now. We don't have a church there so we visit the Catholic churches," he says.

The community is now seeing a revival of sorts, and six Armenians are presently living in the city.

St Mary’s Armenian Church was first built in 1712 – a simple wooden structure in erstwhile Madras. It was later demolished, only to be raised again in 1772.

Jude Johnson, its present caretaker, accompanies us as we walk through the serene courtyard and gardens, where almost 350 Armenians have been laid to rest.

“The last burial here was in 1850, after which our burial ground was moved to a spot close to the Chennai Central Railway Station,” he says.

The bell tower at its centre – the belfry houses six bells – is rung on Sundays every week at 9.30 am, he says. “The bells are 150 kgs each, manufactured in London.”

“The altar inside the church is also special for having a portrait of Virgin Mary taking Jesus to heaven. You don’t find this anywhere else in the country,” says Jude.

The Armenian-Madras connect goes back several centuries.

“The first Armenian journal, Azdarar, was published here in Madras in 1794 by Rev. Haruthiun Shmavonian. There’s still a copy of it preserved in Armenia today. There’s also the hand-embroidered altar curtain that was presented by the Madras Armenians around 1780, which is still intact and used during the services in the Etchmiadzin Cathedral (holy cathedral) in Armenia,” says Michael, who came to Chennai for the service.

The first draft constitution for Armenia was also put together here around 1780s, he shares.

There’s also the story of Coja Petrus Uscan draping the Armenian Street in silk to welcome the Nawabs of Carnatic when they visited Madras.

Petrus Uscan built the first bridge across the Adyar River in 1728, the Marmalong Bridge – now the Maraimalai Adigal Bridge in Saidapet – and also the steps leading to the shrine atop St Thomas Mount.

The presence of the Armenians in Madras can be traced all the way back to 1512. “There are records of Armenians informing the Portuguese of the grave of St Thomas that was found in Madras,” says Niveditha Louis, a history enthusiast.

One of the six Armenians in the city is Ashken, who moved here three years ago and now teaches Russian at the Russian Cultural Centre in the city.

What brings her to Chennai? “Life. Love,” she laughs.

“This is my small Armenia in Chennai and I come here to the church quite often. There are only six Armenians in the city now and that explains why we don't have a regular mass here in the church,” she says.

Armenia was the first country in the world that adopted Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD. “There are churches from fourth century AD in Armenia,” says Ashkhen.

Armenians also celebrate Christmas on January 6, the day the Western Christian Church celebrates Epiphany. “It’s how the calendar works,” explains Ashkhen. “We also do not cook meat on Christmas, but we do make fish and a special kind of pulao, and there are also a lot of greens on the table,” she adds.

The service on Tuesday was conducted entirely in Armenian. It also offered a memorial prayer marking the death anniversary of Rev. Haruthiun Shmavonian, which falls on February 9.

Service in progress. Photo courtesy: Ratheesh Sundaram

Presided by Very Rev. Movses Saargysan, who has been serving the community in Kolkata for the past two years, the service was also attended by Very Rev. Joseph J Thaliaparampil, Cor-Episcopa from the St Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, and other priests, in addition to Armenians from across the country.

Will Chennai be able to save a 300-yr-old plaque connecting it to its Armenian past?

The plaque is the last living relic of the Marmalong, the first ever bridge built over the Adyar river in 1726 by Armenian trader Coja Petrus Uscan.

Sreedevi Jayarajan

Tuesday, February 13, 2018 - 15:54

If you take a walk across the busy roads of Saidapet in Chennai, chances are that you would cross what is perhaps one of the oldest living relics that connects the city to its Armenian past.

To the uninitiated, it may look like an unremarkable slab of stone on a pale green crumbling wall. However, this ordinary looking slab of stone is in fact a 300-year-old plaque that belonged on the pillars of one of oldest bridges in the city.

Marmalong Bridge, the first ever bridge across the Adyar river, was commissioned in 1726 by Coja Petrus Uscan, an immensely wealthy Armenian trader. Uscan, who had decided to settle in Madras after coming to the city in 1724, paid 30,000 pagodas from his own money to build the bridge and another 1,500 pagodas for its upkeep.

“Uscan was immensely respected and perhaps was even one of the only non-British allowed to stay in Fort St George or the White town. A devout believer in St Thomas, Uscan wanted more people to visit the Saint Thomas Mount, and therefore removed the two impediments – the river and the lack of steps – by building the bridge as well as 160 steps to the mount. This was the initial purpose of the bridge. But all that soon changed as the Marmalong Bridge became crucial to the expansion of the city, especially towards the South,” says Chennai-based novelist and historian Venkatesh Ramakrishnan.

Mount Road came after the bridge

Mount Road, around which the city developed, came 60 years after the Marmalong bridge.

Named after Mambalam, one of the villages near the Adyar, the Marmalong Bridge perhaps laid the foundation stone for the city as it led to the emergence of the Mount Road, around which Chennai developed.

“It was only natural that a road followed after a bridge was built. The British built the Mount Road in the 1800s, around which the city grew. So, in a sense, the bridge led to the city’s birth and is very close to its heart,” Venkatesh adds.

However, the Marmalong only lives in our memories today. Where the arched bridge of Uscan once stood, a concrete replacement called the Maraimalai Adigal Bridge now exists. There are no traces of this Adyar-Armenian connect but for the last living relic – the plaque commemorating Uscan’s construction of the bridge.

With inscriptions in three ancient languages – Persian, Armenian and Latin, the Uscan plaque was established in memory of the great nation of Armenia and is a tribute to the people who helped build the city.

“The Armenian inscriptions are on the lower portion of the plaque. It can’t be read because the writing has faded with time and neglect,” according to Venkatesh.

Crusade to preserve the plaque

The neglected plaque stands near the Saidapet Metro construction site.

Displaced from its original site, the plaque faces the perils of urbanisation and is further threatened by the metro rail work that is underway.

Years of neglect and development in the area has buried the stone in layers of debris. In fact, the bottom of the stone has disappeared under the ground as the road levels have been rising every year due to re-carpeting, Venkatesh laments.

With the construction of the Saidapet Metro station underway, historians who are fighting to save the plague urge the CMRL to give the stone a place of honor in the metro station.

Highlighting the importance of preserving such relics, Venkatesh says, “The Armenians have contributed immensely to this city. I believe it is important to preserve all traces to this link. It is really unfortunate that while the Uscan stone stands neglected, another plaque at the Fourbeck Bridge is preserved by the Architectural Society of India,” he said.

A dedicated group of Chennai historians have launched a Facebook page “Retrieve Uscan Stone” to draw attention to the issue and save the plaque.

“The Saidapet Metro work is too close to the plaque. We have been urging the officials to move the relic to a better place, may be a museum or a memorial site. We just don’t want to lose a precious piece of the city’s history,” Venkatesh says hopefully.

Centuries old Armenian Church throws light on Assam connectDhubri veterans recollect presence of structures made by diaspora during stay

GAURAV DASAug 14, 2018 00:00 IST

The church in Dhubri district. Picture by Gaurav Das

Guwahati: The rediscovery of what is believed to be an 'Armenian church' in Dhubri has reignited curiosity among heritage connoisseurs and local administration to find its roots and the extent of Armenian influence in lower Assam.

With its obscure past and unique architecture, the church has been a topic of mystery among elderly locals of Dhubri town, and how with its stature as a well-connected port Dhubri had drawn people of different origins from distant places, including Armenians.

The church's architecture is unique; a mix of Armenian style amalgamated with Assam-type house architecture. Compared to other British era structures it stands apart. It has three arch-shaped glass windows along with a central triangular shaped dome.

The Armenians arrived in India before the British. They had a considerable presence in Kerala and Bengal. In Calcutta, the Armenians contributed to the city's commerce as a thriving business community and helped build some of the most prominent landmarks.

Heritage Conservation Society of Assam (HeCSA), a registered society working towards the conservation and preservation of Assam's pre- colonial structures, recently shared a photo of the Armenian Church, sparking interest among heritage connoisseurs.

"The structure throws light on an intriguing chapter in Assam's history. Till now, it was only known that Armenians had a significant presence in Bengal during pre-colonial time. Assam's heritage is something we should study and help establish with fact-finding missions. It is important to know what influence they had in Dhubri district. The cold trail of their supposed presence should be reignited by research," said Jayanta Sharma, secretary of HeCSA.

Armenia, a former landlocked Soviet republic, became the world's first Christian country more than 1,700 years ago, in 301 AD, and has a large diaspora across the world.

The key to the mystery surrounding the church and the presence of Armenians in Dhubri lies with the surviving older generation which has witnessed some of the remnants of what the Armenians left behind.

Among them is octogenarian S.K. Bose, a writer and connoisseur of the region's socio-economic and cultural aspects. Bose was born in Dhubri and had witnessed some of the elaborate Armenian structures, including a graveyard. "There was a graveyard about 50 meters from the church. I vividly remember around 12 to 15 Armenian graves. Among them were two of children. This signifies that the Armenians had a significant presence. They were traders who could have arrived in Dhubri during the 18th century or early 19th century. But the graveyard is no longer there. Modern construction prevailed over it. Only old records could show the exact date," said Bose, who is into numismatics.

"The church has stained glass called sun-catcher, with a central triangular shaped dome at the top. This aspect cannot be found in other British structures. There is a greater need for preservation. But the local administration has shown interest. Last week there was a meeting in Dhubri on how to conserve this Armenian Church. But the onus was placed on establishing its legacy and finding evidence," said a source.

The British transformed the Armenian Church into a club which post-Independence came to be known as the Ladies' Club.